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Campaign Convoy

Driving west on the two-lane Highway 92 in southeast Iowa, the blue “Main Street Express” bus carrying John Edwards and his campaign staff was slowed down by another bus ahead of it: Fred Thompson’s.

Mr. Edwards was on his way, and a little late, to an event at a public library in Washington, where he planned to speak to a group of undecided voters.
So after trailing Mr. Thompson’s bus, just before pulling into town, the Edwards bus made its move and passed the Thompson bus, which bears an enormous picture of Mr. Thompson, Mr. Edwards’ staff said, chortling after they finally stepped off the bus.

“They got an eyeful of us,” said one Edwards staffer, rejoicing at the metaphor. “And our dust.”

(1)A 527 is supposed to advocate “issues” NOT candidates. The 527 ads supporting Edwards clearly advocate for him, so it’s not abiding by the law. When you advocate for a candidate, you’re supposed to set-up as a PAC.
(2)The donors of the 527 INCLUDE PACs (see link on DailyKos).
(3)The 527 is run by an Edwards campaign manager who was on his payroll this past spring.
(4)This isn’t the first time Edwards has done this. Before the 2004 Iowa caucus, another Edwards aide, Jonathan Prince, left to form a 527 that spent money on advertising for Edwards in Iowa.

Edwards may be hiding behind a smokescreen of “leagalese” but it is clear that he is exploiting a loophole in campaign finance laws to get more advertising dollars spent on his behalf in Iowa. Also, since PACs are contributing to the 527, Edwards is benefiting from PAC money.

Speaking of 527’s: LATimes:
“The groups Obama was referring to include labor unions, which are a foundation of Democratic Party support, and EMILY’s List, a political action committee devoted to electing Democratic women who support abortion rights.
Although Obama has not received backing from independent campaigns in Iowa, he stands to benefit from one such group, Vote Hope, which aims to help him in the Feb. 5 primary in California.
“In no uncertain terms, we oppose any such support and continue to disavow it,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of Vote Hope.
Vote Hope representatives did not return phone calls. The group raised $350,000 in the first half of the year, according to records filed in July with the Federal Election Commission and the California secretary of state.
When it was created in March, the group said it hoped to raise $2 million, to get Obama supporters to the polls in California”.

Honestly, friend–have you actually seen the spot(s)–and by actually, I mean on the air–or at least on cable–in Iowa?

My friends and associates in Iowa say they haven’t seen anything like what’s posted on YouTube.

Who posted that spot on YouTube?

Honestly, what he/she purports to be the spot, as an advertising professional, I have to say it looks suspiciously more like a mash up to me, designed to support the freepers–whom the chap at the DailyKos openly acknowledges are among his sources.

For that matter–“Ava”–who are you working with?

Or for?

But enough of dealing with the attack of the sock puppets–let’s focus on the story at the top of the thread.

Anyone care to guess what sort of music was playing on the Thompson bus?